"The big problem that is holding back Linux is games. People donít realize how critical games are in driving consumer purchasing behavior," says Valve's Gabe Newell as quoted on AllThingsD. "We want to make it as easy as possible for the 2,500 games on Steam to run on Linux as well. Itís a hedging strategy. I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space. I think weíll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people. If thatís true, then it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality." Thanks VG247.

Agent.X7 wrote on Jul 25, 2012, 18:30:Eh, all I know is that MS seems locked in to the 1 bad OS release followed by 1 good OS release cycle.

By that logic:

98 - GoodME - OH God, is there a word that describes how bad that was?XP - GoodVista - WTF? NO!7 - Good8- Going to be bad? Most freakin' likely.

(No, I'm not counting the Enterprise centered NT OSs before they merged with consumer level.)

I agree. I completely ignored Vista and jumped on the win7 wagon a bit late but I didn't regret it. The games run faster and smoother.I even use xp mode to use my old scanner and my own games.

I am prepared to ignore windows 8 wholeheartedly. Vista had directx 10 and 11 to push people to upgrade. Will they be using the same trick again to promote Win8? Maybe in conjunction to the next XBOX to push developers to release games on the two platforms rapidly. That's a strategy that could backfire.

However, as Steam is concerned, I will choose whatever download app that allows me to choose in which directory and in which drive I can download my games over Steam. That improvement should be a priority for them.I don't wish their demise but I wish developers wouldn't force Steam down my throat. What would happen if steam was killed by competition. The two latest games I bought required steam to install. If Steam discontinued their service, developers would be forced to patch their games or fear everyone including the legit users start cracking them.